The Bundestag advocates a right to fast internet.
Consumers can rejoice.
Berlin - The discussion about nationwide Internet is not new. While mobile telephony is possible almost everywhere in Germany, the situation is very different when it comes to data traffic. Now the Bundestag * has spoken out in favor of a right to fast internet. On Thursday, parliament voted with a majority of the CDU / CSU and SPD * parliamentary groups in favor of the draft modernization of the Telecommunications Act (TKG) presented by the federal government, which is also intended to speed up network expansion. The corresponding draft law is now before the Federal Council *. With a right to fast internet, citizens will probably be able to demand better landline connections from mid-2022. With the planned change in the law, EU requirements will be implemented.
Opposition criticism: "A real legal right to fast internet" is needed
Minimum requirements for download, upload and latency are to be specified in the Telecommunications Act.
This response time has yet to be calculated.
The Federal Network Agency will presumably calculate the binding lower limit.
As a guide value for the download, 30 Mbit per second is estimated.
The actual and binding minimum value should be less than 20Mbit per second.
The guideline should then increase over the years.
Criticism came from the opposition.
For Anke Domscheit-Berg from the left parliamentary group *, the guidelines are far too weak.
She advocated a lower limit of 100 Mbit per second in the download.
Tabea Rößner from the Greens * also criticizes the draft.
You need “a real legal right to fast internet,” she says.
She demanded a claim for damages of five euros a day.
Telecommunications Act: Changes to TV costs for tenants
In addition to the right to fast internet, the TKG amendment also provides for a change in the billing of TV costs for tenants. As things stand now, landlords will no longer be allowed to settle cable fees via ancillary costs from July 2024. So far, landlords have been able to allocate the monthly basic fees for TV cable connections to the operating costs. Regardless of whether the tenant uses the connection or not. This apportionment eligibility should no longer be possible in the future. The tenants then have the freedom of choice and can conclude other contracts.
The umbrella association of the housing industry GdW criticized this decision.
A collective subscription through a housing company, which up to now has secured “very cheap” TV costs, will then no longer be possible.
Tenants who want to continue to have cable TV would have “additional costs of up to 200 euros per household per year”.
There is one exception, however: if the landlord lets fiber optic cables be laid, the landlord can share the costs with the tenant by paying a provision fee.
He may do this for a period of five years and in certain cases for nine years.
However, it must not be more expensive than five euros a month for the tenant.
This exemption is intended to promote the expansion of fiber optics.
TKG: The expansion of mobile communications should give everyone the right to high-speed internet
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The expansion of mobile communications is to be pushed further.
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© Patrick Pleul / dpa / picture alliance
Requirements for the expansion of mobile communications are also to be anchored in the amendment to the law.
The existing expansion requirements of the Federal Network Agency are to become more ambitious and thus increase the pressure on the telecommunications industry.
In order to enable 4G reception for all mobile phone customers, the Bundestag's transport committee is to exercise control in the future.
"We as legislators will take a closer look at what the Federal Network Agency and the telecommunications service providers actually do," said CSU * MP Ulrich Lange.
The expansion of mobile communications should enable citizens both in the city and in the country to exercise their right to high-speed internet.
Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) also emphasized this: "Regardless of whether I decide to live in the country or in the city, in future everyone will have a statutory right to fast Internet".
In addition, according to Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU *), consumer rights are to be strengthened.
For example, there should be lump-sum compensation in the event of disruptions or in the event of missed technical appointments.
"Disruptions must be eliminated within a day, otherwise the customer can demand compensation," said the deputy economic and energy policy spokesman for the CDU / CSU parliamentary group, Andreas Lämmel.
Another part of the TKG also regulates that telecommunications contracts may no longer be automatically extended by the same term after a contract period of 24 months.
It should also be possible to terminate them on a monthly basis after the extension.
The Bundestag has now passed Merkel's Emergency
Brakes
Act. *
(Dpa / jsch) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubric lists: © Patrick Pleul / dpa / picture alliance